Every Successful Sale Involves Finding "The Clue"

It's right in front of you. It's right next to you.

It's right behind you. It's ten feet away from you. It's on the other end of your cell phone. It's at the opposite end of your e-mail inbox. You can hear it. You can see it. You can feel it. You can sense it. Or not.

The choice is entirely up to you.

In the end, if you choose not to care about the clue, your life will be less rich and your W-2 will be less fat. Those two outcomes are certainties.

Oftentimes, one hears irate retail managers advise subordinates to "get a clue", when, in fact, the road to success in sales is assured if one merely digs, listens, waits and watches for the clue with consistency, courtesy, determination, persistence and resilience, and then plans and executes an appropriate, timely and well conceived response once the clue has been discovered.

How could something as simple as the clue be so vital to one's success in marketing and sales in the retail automotive arena?

The clue.

Every forward-thinking salesperson embraces the chance to dig deeply with courtesy, effective listening, using kindness and persistence to discover the clue. The clue. It's there. All around us. 24 x 7. The clue is waiting to be discovered and acted upon. By you? Or by the clueless showroom "Broom Master" gold medal winners who work for your competitors? That decision is entirely up to you.

Most of all, the search for the clue is a learning experience, both for your clients … and for you. During that search and discovery process, you will often uncover a customer's hidden love for your brand’s products that would never have been revealed in detail, if you had taken neither the time nor shown the interest to find the clue.

The clue? Look around you. Listen. Watch. See? There it is. Right there.

Be not afraid. Go for it.

Wow your clients! Become a relentless clue miner. Dig for the clue. Dig with excitement, friendliness and optimism. Dig every day. Dig on the phone, dig on line, dig during face to face Facebooking. But, don't rest until the clue is found. Your present and future customers will never forget your interest in the clue, nor will they forget the connection between you and the excellence of your brand’s fine line of products sold and serviced at your dealerships. It's a winning combination in every way.

The clue? May you never regard a prospective customer or current customer in the same way again. Starting right now, let finding and using the clue as glue be your number # 1 priority. Sales? Fixed ops? Administration? Senior management? The clue is omnipresent. Best of all, it's free!

Don't bother running.

… Because there's no escape from the clue in the retail automotive business, unless one closes one's ears, eyes and mind. So keep your ears and eyes open, keep your mind open, and remember that the clue is always right in front of you. Or behind you. Or right next to you. And awaiting your discovery. Always. But only if you believe it to be so.

Become a true believer in the power of the clue, and let the good times and more new and pre-owned units will roll to thrilled customers who will come back routinely for service to see their favorite service advisors and to have their vehicles maintained by their favorite certified technicians only because you, a focused, open-minded and motivated dealership employee at the retail level, took the time to discover the clue.

It's all about the clue. The clue is truly the glue, and, no, it's not crazy. Not at all. Let the fun begin as soon as you have finished reading this article. Your life at the workplace and elsewhere will never be the same again. I guarantee it.

And all because of the clue. And you. What a dynamic combination!